There were 12,511 households out of which 24.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.1% were married couples living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.4% were non-families. 35.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.93. The age distribution is: 19.2% under the age of 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 36.9% from 25 to 44, 23.2% from 45 to 64, and 15.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 91.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.8 males.

According to a 2007 estimate, the median income for a household in the city was $82,596, and the median income for a family was $100,601.[2] The mean household income is $118,900 with the average cost of a dwelling unit being $931,500, according to the Silicon Valley Business Journal[3]. Males had a median income of $59,148 versus $47,461 for females. The per capita income for the city was $33,565. About 3.7% of families and 5.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.8% of those under age 18 and 4.0% of those age 65 or over.

History

Burlingame is on the Mexican land grantRancho San Mateo given by Governor Pio Pico to his secretary, Cayetano Arena in 1845. Cayetano soon sold the land to San Francisco based merchant William Davis Merry Howard. Howard retired to live on the rancho for the remaining eight years of his life. Howard planted many eucalyptus trees on his property.

Howard's early death in 1856 led to the sale of most of the land to William C. Ralston, a prominent banker. In 1866, Anson Burlingame, the US Minister to China visited Ralston, and by the time he left he was the owner of 1,043 acres (4 km2) of land. His name “Burlingame” was put onto the parcel map for reference. That visit to the San Francisco Peninsula, was Burlingame’s last. On a visit to Russia in 1870, Burlingame died. With his death the land reverted to Ralston.

Ralston had plans for the area which he called “Ralstonville”, but he died in 1875 without many of his plans being realized. The land then passed to Ralston's business partner Senator William Sharon. Sharon died in 1885, and Sharon's son-in-law, Francis G. Newlands, became executor of Sharon’s estate. Newlands had grand plans of his own. His vision was to build estates that surrounded a country club, similar to the development he helped create in Chevy Chase, Maryland. The Burlingame Country Club was organized in 1893.

After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, many people looking to escape the hardships of a city in ruins flocked south. Hundreds of lots in Burlingame were sold in 1906 and 1907. Just two years after the quake, the town of Burlingame was incorporated June 6, 1908. By 1910, the neighboring town of Easton, on the former Rancho Buri Buri, was annexed and became part of Burlingame as well.

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City of Trees

Burlingame is known as the "City of Trees" due to the number of trees within the city (18,000 public trees). In 1908, the Burlingame board of trustees passed an ordinance "prohibiting cutting, injuring, or destroying trees".[5] Most residential properties have trees owned and protected by the city on their public right of way. In addition the city has many parks and Eucalyptus groves that add to the overall tree numbers. The Eucalyptus groves occur to the west of the city on Interstate 280 and grow along many city streets, such as the heritage Jules Francard Grove along the Caltrain tracks north of Burlingame Ave[6], following El Camino Real, and along other smaller local streets. Washington Park, with Burlingame Avenue at its southern edge, Burlingame High School at its northern edge, and the Caltrain line at its western edge is the oldest park in Burlingame. It was originally part of the millionaire cigar retailer Moses A. Gunst Estate, and some of the existing large trees within the park were part of this estate.

Economy

In the 1920s Burlingame became a location for automobile retailers. In 1958 Burlingame annexed the area including Burligame Plaza and Mills Peninsula Hospital.[7] Due to the proximity to San Francisco International Airport and a population increase beginning in the 1960s, various airline support service businesses opened in Burlingame.[8] As of 2002 most of the businesses in the Rollins Road industrial area serve the airline industry due to the proximity to San Francisco International Airport; the Rollins Road area also has car service businesses.[7]

Mills Peninsula Health Services, the largest employer in Burlingame, employs around 2,500 people. LSG/Sky Chefs, Inc., the eighth-largest employer in terms of Burlingame operations, has around 281 people employed there.[9]Guittard Chocolate Company is headquartered in Burlingame;[10] as the city's 10th largest employer it has around 210 employees.[9]Virgin America's headquarters are located in Suite 450 at Bay Park Plaza II in Burlingame;[11][12] as the 13th largest employer Virgin America has around 200 employees at its headquarters.[9]

The online discount brokerage Zecco.com operates one of two California offices in Burlingame.[13] The United States division of Natsume, a video game company, is headquartered in Suite 229 at 1818 Gilbreth Road in Burlingame.[14]China Airlines operates the San Francisco Branch Office in Suite 501 at 433 Airport Boulevard in Burlingame.[15] The Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO), the company made famous by the baseball steroid scandal, was headquartered in Burlingame.[16]

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools

San Mateo Union High School District operates local high schools. Burlingame High School is the city's sole public high school. Burlingame Intermediate School is Burlingame's sole public middle school. There are five public elementary schools serving Burlingame. They are Franklin Elementary, Lincoln Elementary, McKinley Elementary, Roosevelt Elementary, and Washington Elementary. There are several private schools located in Burlingame including Our Lady of Angels, St.Catherine of Siena, and Mercy Burlingame High School.

Public libraries

Burlingame Library

Burlingame Library is located in Burlingame. It was established by city ordinance October 11, 1909. Following the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989 the City approved a bond issue to reconstruct the library. The architecture has won awards and was featured in Library Journal as well as earning a cover story in American Libraries. There is a secondary location on Easton Drive, which is substantially smaller than the main branch.

Trivia and Notable Residents

Burlingame is named after Anson Burlingame who purchased approximately 1,000 acres (4 km²) in what is currently Hillsborough & Burlingame. Anson Burlingame never lived on this property and only visited once or twice.